New fee on brush at China transfer station

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by Mary Grow

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 15, people disposing of brush at the China transfer station will be charged a fee of two cents a pound. Vehicles carrying brush will enter and leave over the scale so the weight can be measured.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained at the Oct. 24 select board meeting that China used to get rid of its brush for free: a company would chip it and haul away the chips to sell. This year, she said, because of changing economics, the company charged a $4,000 fee.

By combining China’s and Vassalboro’s brush piles, China’s charge was halved, to $2,000 – still more than she appreciated paying, Hapgood said.

Now that disposal costs the town money, select board members voted unanimously to pass the cost on to transfer station users.

Hapgood said experiments in anticipation of the new fee showed most people will pay between two and five dollars.

CHINA: Delta official explains proposed fee increases

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by Mary Grow

At their Oct. 24 meeting, China select board members heard a presentation from Delta Ambulance executive director Timothy Beals about proposed fees to be charged municipalities the organization serves.

There are 14 municipalities, Beals said, and Oct. 24 was his fourth presentation; he had previously been to Windsor, Smithfield and Vassalboro (see the Oct. 20 issue of The Town Line, p. 2).

He summarized the history and activities of the non-profit organization, emphasizing its high-quality service. Delta Ambulance provides emergency services in response to 911 calls; it also uses its vehicles for transports from one medical facility to another, locally and out of area as needed.

Financial support has come entirely from insurance payments, which fall steadily farther behind expenses, he said. Recently Waterville and Winslow have started their own ambulance services, decreasing Delta’s call volume and therefore its revenue. Delta has responded by reducing staff, but still cannot make ends meet; hence the need to start charging municipalities.

The planned $15 per resident charge – lower than the fee charged by any other Maine service he mentioned – will cost China taxpayers about $66,000 in the next fiscal year, he expects. In recent years Delta has been averaging more than 400 China calls annually.

Delta’s governing board plans to start the fees Jan. 1, 2023, but they will be adapted to each municipal fiscal year. China will be asked to include funding in the 2023-24 budget that takes effect July 1, 2023.

Board members and Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood had many questions. For example:

  • Wayne Chadwick asked if the $15 per resident charge was negotiable. It’s “pretty firm,” Beals replied; and, he added later, likely to increase in 2024-25.
  • Hapgood asked if Delta’s board of directors could have more municipal involvement than the current five out of 13 seats. A possibility to be discussed by the board, Beals replied.
  • Select board chairman Ronald Breton asked about multi-year contracts, to simplify municipal budget planning. Another board of directors’ decision, Beals said.
  • Hapgood asked if the fee would increase if some of the 14 municipalities did not pay. Yes, Beals said, but by an unknown amount, because non-paying municipalities would not be served, reducing expenses.

No dollars, no emergency ambulance service. “It’s a hard thing for me to say,” Beals said, “but you can’t charge one town and not charge another.”

Beals said the response from other boards has been “understanding.”

In other business Oct. 24, select board members considered proposals from B. R. Smith Associates (BRSA), of Presque Isle, for building plans for a town office addition (see the Sept. 15 issue of The Town Line, p. 2). After discussion of options, they voted unanimously to spend up to $11,000 to have the company design a records storage building plus prepare a concept plan for a second addition in the future.

Municipal Building Committee chairman Sheldon Goodine explained that the storage building will be a “vault,” climate-controlled and fire-protected. Combining the full plan and the concept should help prepare for future interconnections, for example in electrical and heating systems.

Goodine predicted the additional expansion would be needed within two or three years.

“Not if I’m still on the board,” Chadwick replied.

By another unanimous vote, select board members sold the unneeded office trailer (former portable classroom) to the only bidder, for $50.

Hapgood issued another reminder that absentee ballots for Nov. 8 voting are available at the town office. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Thursday, Nov. 3.

The next regular China select board meeting will be Monday evening, Nov. 7. It will be Breton’s last meeting, as he is not a candidate for re-election.

New fee on brush at transfer station

by Mary Grow

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 15, people disposing of brush at the China transfer station will be charged a fee of two cents a pound. Vehicles carrying brush will enter and leave over the scale so the weight can be measured.

Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained at the Oct. 24 select board meeting that China used to get rid of its brush for free: a company would chip it and haul away the chips to sell. This year, she said, because of changing economics, the company charged a $4,000 fee.

By combining China’s and Vassalboro’s brush piles, China’s charge was halved, to $2,000 – still more than she appreciated paying, Hapgood said.

Now that disposal costs the town money, select board members voted unanimously to pass the cost on to transfer station users.

Hapgood said experiments in anticipation of the new fee showed most people will pay between two and five dollars.

VASSALBORO: Talks continue on VCS-located daycare

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Vassalboro Community School (contributed photo)

by Mary Grow

Jennifer Lizotte attended the Oct. 18 Vassalboro School Board meeting to continue discussion of the daycare program she heads at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) (see the Sept. 29 issue of The Town Line, p. 3, for the initial discussion).

Board members had compiled a page-and-a-half list of questions and comments about the program. Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer distributed suggestions for a lease agreement from the school attorneys.

Lizotte said at the previous meeting that the program runs from 6:30 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. weekdays and has 44 youngsters enrolled. There are 26 names on the waiting list, she said; she has enough staff to enroll eight more, but there is not space for them in the area VCS can spare.

Lizotte thinks a daycare at the school is valuable; parents who go to work early or get home late, and parents who cannot pick up children in the middle of the day on an early release day, know their children have a safe place to stay.

Pfeiffer and board members agree an in-school daycare is a benefit. “Without the daycare a lot of families would be really facing hard times,” one person wrote.

There is concern about costs, though, and suggestions that the school charge rent in return for services provided – from electricity and heat to light bulbs and toilet paper – or that school officials explore possible town financial support.

Another comment asked about year-round security. Pfeiffer and Lizotte answered the question: the school has a crisis team and a regularly-updated crisis plan; daycares are required to have safety and security emergency plans; and when the two share a building, they cooperate.

The daycare discussion is scheduled to continue at the board’s Nov. 15 meeting.

In other business, Principal Ira Michaud reported favorable reactions to the September VCS newsletter. The colorful document was sent to students’ families; paper copies were left at the town office; and it is available on the website, vcsvikings.org, under the “Latest News” heading.

Assistant Principal Tabitha Brewer said she is working with town recreation committee members to bring community activities back to the VCS gym, after a covid-caused break.

“It’s nice to see some of the normalcy come back,” Pfeiffer commented.

Finance director Paula Pooler reported she sees no 2022-23 budget problems so far, and the food service program remains in the black. The audit of the 2021-22 fiscal year is under way, she said; and she has already set up 2023-24 budget accounts for the Vassalboro, Waterville and Winslow school departments.

Curriculum coordinator Carol Kiesman was looking forward to a visit to the pre-kindergarten classes by officials from the state Department of Education. Pfeiffer was expecting federal and state emergency management personnel to discuss ongoing plans to make VCS an emergency shelter for the town.

School board members have almost finished reviewing the school’s strategic plan. The final version, when approved, will be put on the website, Pfeiffer said.

Pfeiffer issued another reminder to parents who have not yet filled out the application for free school meals: please do so. Breakfast and lunch are free by state law; but the forms are essential documentation, for example for applying for state and federal grants.

CHINA: Voters to decide local and state elections

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by Mary Grow

China voters have local elections on Nov. 8, as well as the state elections. There are several contests for state offices; on the local ballot, there are more vacancies (which can be filled by writing in a name) than contests.

The state contest is topped by the race for District 1 representative to the United States Congress, between Democratic incumbent Chellie Pingree, of North Haven, and Republican challenger Edwin Thelander, of Bristol. There is also a line for a voter to write in a third person.

This ballot calls for ranked choice voting. Voters are asked to fill in an oval under the “1st Choice” column for their preferred candidate; they may fill in an oval under the “2nd Choice” column and, if they added a name, the “3rd Choice” column.

The reverse side of the state ballot is not ranked-choice. Voters are asked to mark the oval beside only one candidate’s name for each office.

Contests on this ballot are as follows. Names are listed in alphabetical order for each position; there is a line for a write-in candidate for each office.

  • For governor, Independent Sam Hunkler, from Beals; Republican Paul LePage, from Edgecomb; and incumbent Democrat Janet T. Mills, from Farmington.
  • For District #15 state senator, Republican incumbent Matthew Gary Pouliot, of Augusta; and Democrat Storme June St. Valle, also of Augusta.
  • For District #62 state representative, Independent Lindsey D. Harwath, of China; Republican Katrina J. Smith, of Palermo; and Democrat Pamela J. Swift, also of Palermo. The winner will succeed Republican Timothy Theriault, of China, who was term-limited.
  • For Kennebec County Register of Deeds, Republican Matthew James Boucher, of Oakland; and incumbent Democrat C. Diane Wilson, of Litchfield.

Three current office-holders are unopposed for re-election: Kathleen Grant Ayers, Democrat of West Gardiner, for Kennebec County Register of Probate; Democrat Thomas F. Doore, of Augusta, for Kennebec County treasurer; and Democrat Maeghan Maloney, of Augusta, for District #4 (Kennebec and Somerset counties) district attorney.

China’s local ballot includes candidates for four offices: select board, planning board, budget committee and member of the Regional School Unit #18 board. Select board, planning board and budget committee members serve two-year terms. RSU #18 board members serve three years.

China’s Nov. 8 voting will be in the portable building behind the town office. Polling hours will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Vehicle entrance will be from Alder Park Road only; the driveway onto Lakeview Drive will be blocked off.

The China town office will be closed Nov. 8 so that staff can be at the polls.

This ballot is not ranked choice. There are spaces for a write-in for each position.

Select board members and the RSU delegate are elected from anywhere in town. The planning board and budget committee have at-large members plus representatives from four districts. District Two (northeast) and District #4 (southwest) positions are to be filled this year, and also the planning board at-large position and the budget committee secretary and at-large position.

  • For select board, there are three names on the ballot for three positions: incumbent Blane C. Casey, Brent A. Chesley and incumbent Janet M. Preston. The third board member whose term ended this year, Ronald Breton, is not running.
  • For planning board, there is one name on the ballot, incumbent James Wilkens for the at-large position. District #2 member Toni Wall said she will accept re-election if enough voters write in her name. District #4 member Scott Rollins said he will not accept re-election; he has too many other demands on his time.
  • For the budget committee, District #4 member Timothy Basham and at-large member Elizabeth Curtis are unopposed for re-election. Secretary Trishea Story said she will serve again if enough writers write in her name. There is no candidate for the District #2 seat; Thomas Rumpf’s term is ending.
  • Three candidates seek to represent China on the RSU board: incumbent Dawn M. Castner; Wallace R. Pooler, III; and Darrell A. Stevens. China’s other representative, whose term ends in 2024, is T. James Bachinski.

CHINA: Six referendum questions on ballot deal with ARPA funds

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by Mary Grow

At the polls on Nov. 8, China voters will express their opinions on state elections, including choice of town representatives to the state legislature; local elections for select board, planning board, budget committee and Regional School Unit #18 director; and eight local referendum questions.

Six of the referenda ask approval to spend federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for specified projects. Two are proposed amendments to town ordinances.

With one exception, members of the town select board and budget committee recommended unanimously that voters approve all proposed expenditures.

The exception is the first question, asking for $70,000 in ARPA funds to help create a privately-owned fiberoptic broadband system that would initially extend broadband service to parts of China that are unserved or underserved.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members have repeatedly discussed expanding and improving service and have explored various approaches. The current plan would add the $70,000 to $300,000 from the Tax Increment Financing Fund (TIF) for the town’s share of a privately-owned and privately-run broadband service, comparable to and competitive with Spectrum and other providers serving China residents.

China voters already approved a schedule of TIF expenditures that includes $30,000 a year for 10 years for broadband.

The remaining cost of the expansion and improvements would be paid by Direct Communications, of Idaho, and its Unity-based subsidiary, UniTel, who would own and operate the service, and by a state grant aimed at extending broadband service to unserved and underserved areas.

Select board members unanimously recommend approval of the funding, even though some have opposed past CBC recommendations. When the budget committee reviewed the question, after a brief discussion five members voted to recommend the expenditure and Michael Sullivan voted against recommending it.

The other question that generated discussion on the select board and the budget committee is No. 5 on the ballot, the request for no more than $75,000 in ARPA money for a new, one-year, senior fuel assistance program. Select board member Wayne Chadwick suggested the program as he looked at high prices residents are likely to face to keep warm this winter.

Discussion was not over the merits of the program, but over how it would work. Select board members adopted a set of standards, found on the town website, chine.govoffice.com, under the elections tab, with the title “Senior Citizens Fuel Support Fund.”

The questions that have generated little or no discussion during board and committee meetings ask voters to approve the following ARPA expenditures.

  • No more than $21,590, to reimburse China Rescue for an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
  • No more than $7,000 for improvements to the radio tower at the town office complex on Lakeview Drive.
  • No more than $22,000 to buy three heat pumps, for the town office and at the transfer station office building and the scale shack.
  • No more than $30,000 to repair cemetery fences.

The first proposed ordinance change is an amendment to China’s Quorum Ordinance. The ordinance currently says that every town meeting, regular or special, requires having a quorum assembled before business can begin. The quorum consists of “four percent of the residents registered to vote as of the first business day of January in the year in which the meeting is held.”

This requirement has translated to between 120 and 130 voters in recent past years, before town officials changed to a written ballot in 2020 because the covid pandemic led to a ban on large gatherings.

At the Aug. 22 select board meeting, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood proposed changing the requirement to 100 registered voters.

She explained that Maine law now automatically registers as a voter anyone who applies for a state driver’s license. Consequently, she said, China adds a handful of new voters almost every week, with no indication that any of them intend to vote; and therefore the quorum requirement steadily increases.

Three select board members recommend voters approve the change. Chadwick and board chairman Ronald Breton think 100 voters too few.

The second proposed ordinance change is a series of amendments to two sections of China’s Land Use Ordinance, recommended by planning board members after long discussion. Many are required to bring China’s ordinance into conformity with state regulations.

Copies of the Land Use Ordinance amendments are on the website, under two left-hand tabs: Elections, above the fuel assistance fund standards, and the separate tab titled “**Ordinance Updates – Public Comments**.”

The long-discussed new ordinance that would govern future commercial solar development in China is not on the Nov. 8 ballot, as planning board members have not yet agreed on a final version.

China selectmen get glowing report from school super

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by Mary Grow

Regional School Unit #18 Superintendent Carl Gartley (a China resident) and China’s representatives to the RSU #18 board talked with select board members at the Oct. 11 select board meeting.

The new school year is going well, Gartley reported. RSU officials are making progress on three goals: improving attendance, strengthening students’ math and reading skills and involving parents. The number of AP (Advanced Placement, or college-level) courses has increased, giving graduates who attend two-year or four-year colleges a head start – and cost savings.

Despite the national teacher shortage, RSU #18 started the school year with no vacant positions, Gartley said – perhaps the only central Maine district to do so.

“The facilities look great,” he said. Plans for next year include new siding for China Middle School.

Gartley told select board chairman Ronald Breton that when he planned the current year’s school budget a year ago, he budgeted for substantial cost increases, for example in fuel. He also makes as many long-term arrangements as he can, to minimize unexpected year-to-year changes.

RSU board member Jamie Bachinski said the three children who came to the meeting with him were his reason for serving on the board. He commended Gartley and the rest of the administration for “doing an excellent job.”

RSU board member Dawn Castner, who is a candidate for re-election Nov. 8, said after enjoying teaching for five decades, board service keeps her involved in education from a different perspective.

RSU #18 includes Belgrade, China, Oakland, Rome and Sidney. The administrative office is in Oakland.

Later in the meeting, Brent Chesley withdrew as a China member of the RSU #18 Cost Share Committee, because he is unable to attend the first scheduled meeting. Select board members unanimously appointed Dennis Campbellton in his place, joining Breton and Castner.

Gartley explained that a five-town, 15-member committee is created every five years to review the formula that divides the local share of RSU costs among the towns. The current formula is based 75 percent on each town’s property valuation and 25 percent on its student population, he said.

During the public comment period near the end of the meeting, Campbellton asked if public comment could be moved to the beginning of the meeting, so that audience members could speak before select board members made decisions. Board member Wayne Chadwick said if an audience member asks to be recognized at any point in discussion, the board chair normally obliges. Chesley, one of three candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot for three select board seats, agreed.

In other business Oct. 11, Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood reported “a great head start” in response to the amnesty program for residents who made changes on their properties without required town permits (see The Town Line, Sept. 29, p. 3). Many people are appreciative and want to become compliant, she said. She plans to meet with town attorney Amanda Meader to discuss known offenders who do not come forward.

The codes officer has a list of “major issues,” she said, and as the assessor’s quarterly reviews proceed, more unpermitted changes are likely to be reported.

Hapgood shared photos of digital signs she and South China fire chief Richard Morse looked at as they planned to buy a new sign for the South China fire station. She recommended, and select board members unanimously approved, the least expensive one, sold by Neokraft Signs Inc., of Lewiston, for $22,938, plus the cost of an electrical connection to the fire house.

After the meeting, Hapgood said the price might change slightly, depending on the final design. At the June annual town business meeting, China voters approved spending up to $33,000 in federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money for the sign.

Hapgood reported that after extensive review, attorney Meader concluded that the shore frontage in front of The Landing restaurant at the head of China Lake’s east basin does not belong to the town and is part of The Landing property. Ownership has been unknown since the State of Maine relocated Route 202 in 1972.

Select board members agreed unanimously to settle the issue by starting to bill the company owning the restaurant for property taxes on the area.

The manager reported that Lynn Martin, the consultant from Fire Safety Compliance Associates working with the town, had useful talks with town fire and rescue officials. Transfer station and public works staff need to continue to work with Martin, she said. Select board members unanimously approved using $2,800 in contingency funds to extend their two contracts another year.

Hapgood shared with board members another summary report from the digital speed monitoring sign, this time from locations on Deer Hill Road. Average vehicle speeds were consistently above the posted 25 mile-an-hour limit.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Oct. 24. The agenda will probably include discussion with Delta Ambulance representatives of their planned request for town financial support beginning in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

VASSALBORO: 18 residents attend town manager search forum

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by Mary Grow

NOTE: Participants in this meeting were promised by the leader that their comments would be shared anonymously. This writer will therefore not identify speakers.

Eighteen Vassalboro residents attended the Oct. 12 forum that was called to collect answers to two questions: what are the “major issues and challenges” facing the town in the next five years; and what “qualities, education, background and experience” should the town manager who succeeds Mary Sabins have.

Cornell Knight, of Eaton Peabody Consulting Group, led the discussion. He explained that he has 40 years’ experience as a manager in half a dozen Maine municipalities, most recently Bar Harbor.

Sabins announced earlier this fall that she is retiring, effective Jan. 2, 2023. Select board members chose Eaton Peabody to help them find her successor.

Knight said ads have been placed in appropriate places locally, state-wide and on New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts sites and the International City Managers Association website.

Vassalboro staff was asked for their answers to the two questions earlier on Oct. 12. Answers, from discussions and from emails received by Oct. 14, will be published on the town website, www.vassalboro.net. The information will guide Knight and select board members as they evaluate candidates.

Suggested issues and challenges included:

  • A need for more long-range planning, which could include an updated strategic plan (Vassalboro’s is dated 2006); a new comprehensive plan instead of the strategic plan, if voters are ready to accept one; and/or a capital improvements plan. A related suggestion was a review of Vassalboro’s charter, an action that could lead to a change like replacing the select board with a town council.
  • More, and more advanced, technology, a topic that included expanded and improved broadband access for residents and the capacity to hold virtual public meetings and to stream live meetings.
  • Attention to environmental issues, including water quality in the town’s lakes and recycling and waste management.
  • A need for more law enforcement and for improved rescue and ambulance services.

Moving to the second question, the qualities a town manager should have, there was much emphasis on connections and coordination. The manager should make sure town boards and committees are working well, collaborating when needed and communicating with each other and with town departments. Now that Vassalboro’s school department is independent of regional school organizations, school and town cooperation should become closer.

People also called for a manager with problem-solving skills – creative ones, one speaker specified – and the ability to communicate with staff and townspeople. Communication had to be two-way; the manager should be curious, should “listen first and talk second,” and should not try to dictate.

The manager should be good at finding and applying for grants for state and federal funds, and at long-term capital planning.

He or she should take advantage of continuing education opportunities and should communicate and cooperate with colleagues in other towns.

Knight said the deadline for applications is Nov. 1. He and his colleague, Don Gerrish, will do an initial screening. He expects select board members to do a first round of interviews in November and a second round by early December, and to be ready to sign a contract by Dec. 9.

In reply to a suggestion that town office staff be involved in the decision, Knight said staff members usually have an opportunity to meet candidates chosen for second interviews.

Asked if he thought Vassalboro’s salary and benefits package was competitive, he said yes.

If no satisfactory candidate is found, he said, Vassalboro will operate with an interim manager while a new search and selection process goes ahead.

VASSALBORO: Delta Ambulance plans financial requests from served towns

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by Mary Grow

The topics that took the most time at a long and varied Oct. 13 Vassalboro select board meeting were a presentation by Delta Ambulance representatives on plans to request financial aid from towns served, and a discussion with Cross Hill Road residents about getting a new business to comply with conditions on its town permit.

Timothy Beals, Delta Ambulance’s executive director, gave select board members a multi-page handout and supplemented it with a verbal description of the service. He was accompanied by director of community relations, Bill McKenna, and director of operations, Chris Mitchell.

Beals said Delta was organized in 1972 and became a nonprofit corporation in 1975. Its 13-member board includes representatives from area hospitals and from some of the 14 municipalities it serves.

Delta has a main station in Waterville and an ambulance base in Augusta. There are currently about 100 full-time and part-time employees. In addition to responding to emergency calls, its 17 ambulances are used for transfers from one medical facility to another, and its staff provides training sessions.

Recently, Waterville and Winslow have started their own ambulances, withdrawing from Delta. Delta is downsizing accordingly.

For 50 years, Delta has been funded primarily by insurance reimbursements, which have never covered full costs. Payment is made only if a patient is transported; if the ambulance crew resolves the medical crisis and the patient refuses transport, there is no reimbursement.

And, Beals added, if an ambulance service transports everyone who calls, the government is likely to investigate.

Currently, Delta’s annual revenue is around $7 million and annual expenses are around $9 million, with a reserve fund covering the difference.

Therefore, Beals said, Delta officials are asking member towns to appropriate $15 per resident – just under $66,300 for Vassalboro – in the next fiscal year. He believes Delta is the last Maine ambulance service to start charging a service fee; and he said most other per-capita fees are higher.

Emergency response is guaranteed, Beals said. When several ambulances are in use, non-emergency transfers are postponed, and if necessary mutual aid agreements with other services can be invoked.

Vassalboro residents get not only emergency service, around 350 calls a year, but also reimbursement or replacement for most supplies Vassalboro First Responders use and a stand-by ambulance, at no charge, at fire scenes and on request at community events.

In response to questions from select board member Chris French, Beals said Delta board members had not discussed multi-year contracts, nor giving more than the current five board seats to municipal representatives. Both topics are open for discussion, he said.

Select board members will consider the situation.

Rick and Terry Dawson and Peter and Mary Beth Soule brought their problem with a newly-opened brewery at 772 Cross Hill Road to select board members because they did not know how to proceed.

Supported by copies of Vassalboro Planning Board minutes and related documents, they explained that in December 2019, the planning board approved a permit to James and Linda D’Angelo to open the brewery. Notice of approval came from Paul Mitnik, the codes officer in 2019 and, after unsuccessful attempts to retire, the current codes officer.

The approval was conditional on “providing buffering of conifer trees in the east and south property boundaries with extra buffering near parking areas.”

The Dec. 10, 2019, planning board minutes show that David D’Angelo was spokesman for the applicants. One of the public comments was that the brewery’s parking area faces the Dawson property, where the house is 560 feet away, and “Headlights from vehicles [are] a concern.”

On May 18 of this year, then codes officer, Ryan Page, issued a certificateIof occupancy for the brewery to Cross Hill Realty, LLC. The certificate says, “The property owner or tenant is hereby authorized to enter and use the premises.”

It also says, “Special Condition: Screening required in accordance with Site Plan Review.”

The Dawsons and Soules told select board members there is no buffering. Some trees were planted after July 2022; most died and have been even more recently replaced.

They also questioned whether the certificate of occupancy was sufficient to allow the business to open to the public. It did, about two weeks ago, they said.

The residents, board members and Town Manager Mary Sabins discussed whether the issue should be handled by Mitnik or perhaps by the town board of appeals. Related issues were what time limits for appeals might apply, and what, if any, other local or state permits or licenses the brewery might have or need.

After three-quarters of an hour, board member Rick Denico referred the Dawsons and Soules to Vassalboro’s enforcement and appeals ordinance, on the town website.

The Oct. 13 meeting began with a public hearing on renewing town permits for seven automobile graveyards/junkyards and one auto hobbyist’s collection. There were no public comments, and board members unanimously approved Mitnik’s recommendations, as follows:

  • Unconditional renewals for Freddie’s Service Center (Bill Pullen), 163 South Stanley Hill Road; Garnett’s Motors (Stanley Garnett), 1616 North Belfast Avenue; Autowerkes (Voit Ritch), Route 3; Platinum & Core LLC (Robert Parise), 1702 Riverside Drive; and hobbyist Robert Dore, 919 Church Hill Road.
  • Renewals conditional on providing proof of a state recyclers’ license for Ron’s Parts Inc. (James Cogley), 520 Main Street; and Weeks Mills Garage (Olin Charette), 1499 Riverside Drive.
  • An interim conditional renewal for Bondo’s Garage (Dale Clement), 471 Taber Hill Road. Mitnik explained that the garage is closed, and without an associated garage the junkyard should be closed, too, but time is needed for orderly dispersal. Conditions include draining all vehicle fluids, clearing the entrance and getting rid of all but 20 vehicles.

The easy item Oct. 13 was appointing seven members of a new committee.

The committee is to review capital needs of the Vassalboro Historical Society’s building, the former East Vassalboro school house, as proposed two weeks earlier (see the Oct. 6 issue of The Town Line, p. 14). Its members, assuming they accept, are Dave Bolduc, Donald Breton, Janice Clowes, Steve Jones, John Melrose, select board chairman Barbara Redmond and Lauchlin Titus.

Melrose welcomes volunteer advice and help from people knowledgeable about building issues. He told select board members he has already enlisted his son, Andrew, to advise on heating.

Because the meeting was so long, discussion of revisions to the town personnel handbook was postponed to the next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 27.

VASSALBORO: Local and state questions to be on Nov. 8 ballot (2022)

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by Mary Grow

At the polls on Nov. 8, Vassalboro voters will make decisions on local ballot questions and state elections. The questions are presented on two sheets of paper, a two-sided local ballot and a two-sided state ballot.

One local question is election of a Kennebec Water District trustee, for a three-year term. Incumbent Frank Richards is unopposed for re-election.

The other is the Solar Moratorium Ordinance, drafted by town attorney Kristin Collins and discussed at a Sept. 29 public hearing.

If voters approve, it will prohibit new commercial solar developments in town for a period of 180 days (which selectmen can change), beginning immediately after the votes are counted and the result certified.

At the Sept. 29 hearing and following select board meeting, and at an Oct. 4 planning board meeting, residents asked whether an application filed and accepted by the planning board before Nov. 8, but not approved, would be postponed.

Codes officer Paul Mitnik and planning board member Douglas Phillips said the board would not act on an application if the moratorium were in effect. Phillips read the paragraph in the ordinance he thinks relevant:

“[D]uring the time this Moratorium Ordinance is in effect, no officer, official, employee, office, administrative board or agency of the Town shall accept, process, approve, deny, or in any other way act upon any application for a license, building permit or any other type of land use approval or permit and/or any other permits of licenses related to a commercial solar array….”

An earlier paragraph says the ordinance applies to “any proposed commercial solar array” for which an application for any required permit “has not been submitted to and granted final approval by the Code Enforcement Officer, Planning Board or other Town official or board” before the effective date of the ordinance.

The purpose of the moratorium is to give town officials time to develop requirements specific to solar farms, to complement current town regulation of other kinds of commercial development. Select board members hope to have language ready to submit to voters at the June 2023 town meeting.

Vassalboro’s state ballot begins with the District 1 Congressional candidates and includes state and county officials. Each office has a line for a write-in candidate, in addition to those listed on the ballot.

Ranked choice voting, which allows voters to indicate their first choice and, if they wish, a second and a third choice, applies only to the Congressional race.

Contested races are as follows. Names on the ballot are listed alphabetically.

  • For District 1 representative to the United States House of Representatives, Democratic incumbent Chellie M. Pingree, of North Haven, and Republican Edwin Thelander, of Bristol.
  • For governor of Maine, Independent Sam Hunkler, from Beals; Republican Paul LePage, from Edgecomb; and incumbent Democrat Janet T. Mills, from Farmington.
  • For District #15 state senator, Republican incumbent Matthew Gary Pouliot and Democrat Storme Jude St. Valle, both from Augusta.
  • For House District #61, incumbent Republican Richard T. Bradstreet and Democrat Amy J. Davidoff, both from Vassalboro.
  • For Kennebec County Register of Deeds, Republican Matthew James Boucher, of Oakland; and incumbent Democrat C. Diane Wilson, of Litchfield.

Three current office-holders are unopposed for re-election: Kennebec County Register of Probate, Kathleen Grant Ayers, Democrat, of West Gardiner; Kennebec County treasurer, Thomas F. Doore, Democrat, of Augusta; and District 4 (Kennebec and Somerset counties) district attorney, Maeghan Maloney, Democrat, of Augusta.

Vassalboro voting will be in the town office building, at 682 Main Street (Route 32). Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Vassalboro website has additional information about voting rules under the Town Clerk box on the left-hand side; scroll down to the ninth section, “Voter Registration and Election Information.”

Town Clerk Cathy Coyne announced that there is a new box in front of the town office where people can safely drop off absentee ballots when the office is closed. The town also has new voting booths, she said.

Vassalboro planners discuss revised commercial solar farm plan

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning Board members spent the first hour of their two-and-a-half hour Oct. 4 meeting on a revised commercial solar farm plan, and the rest of the time on preliminary discussion of town solar regulations.

The solar project at 2579 Riverside Drive was approved in September 2020. Since then, it has acquired a new owner, a change that needed and got planning board approval, and the board has extended the permit.

The Oct. 4 re-application, as explained by Kara Moody, of Stantec Consulting Services, in Topsham, was for four changes.

  • Instead of the tracking solar panels initially planned, which move to follow the sun, fixed south-facing panels will be used.
  • Therefore some of the other equipment has been rearranged.
  • A new 12-foot-wide access driveway for a connection to Central Maine Power Company (CMP) is planned at the north end of the property.
  • Therefore the original 16-foot-wide access road has been shortened.

The result, Moody said, will be a reduction in total affected acreage from about 33 acres to about 28 acres; a reduction in fenced area from about 27 acres to about 23 acres; a reduction in impervious area from about 9/10ths of an acre to about 8/10ths of an acre; a considerable reduction in the wetland area impacted, from about 4,200 square feet to about 1,100 square feet; less grading; and fewer panels.

The state Department of Environmental Protection approved the original project in December 2020. State regulators will be asked to approve the revision, and the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) to approve the new entrance to Riverside Drive.

Planning board members unanimously approved a revised Vassalboro permit, subject to MDOT approval of the entrance permit and planning board review of the decommissioning plan that is part of the state permit. The review is scheduled for the Nov. 1 planning board meeting.

Vassalboro planning board members have approved four commercial solar permits, board chairman Virginia Brackett said. One on Main Street (Route 32), on Bernard Welch’s property about opposite Ron’s Auto Parts, has been operating for a couple years, she estimated. Two others, on Cemetery Street and on Webber Pond Road, are approved but not built.

Permittees requesting extended permits have told board members the delay is in arranging connections to CMP’s grid.

As they develop local standards, select board members currently plan to add provisions specific to commercial solar developments to Vassalboro’s Site Review Ordinance, which governs commercial and industrial projects. They will ask town attorney Kristin Collins if this approach is correct, or if they and planning board members should prepare a separate ordinance.

The additions, in whichever form, are likely to include requirements for a decommissioning plan (describing how the solar panels will be removed at the end of their useful life and the area restored to its previous state, with a provision for funding); buffering to conceal the solar farm; setbacks from, at least, wetlands, roads and property boundary lines; and maybe height limits.

The goal, Brackett and planning board member Douglas Phillips agreed, is not to prohibit commercial solar developments in Vassalboro, but to set standards “that make them good neighbors.”

Maybe the revisions should include standards for windmills, too, Phillips suggested.

Permit fees also need discussion. Fees are usually set by the select board, not included in ordinances, because if they were part of an ordinance, they could be changed only by a town vote amending the ordinance.

Commercial solar developments need both local and state permits. Select board chairman Barbara Redmond said the state does not regulate them if they cover less than three acres. Town regulations should apply to small developments.

Residents attending the meeting, several of them living on Route 32 near a site for which an application is expected (see The Town Line, Oct. 6, p. 3) offered suggestions for additional requirements. Not all were appropriate for Vassalboro, Redmond and Brackett again reminded them, because the town has no zoning and no comprehensive plan, having substituted a document labeled a strategic plan.

Vassalboro’s 2006 strategic plan is on the town website, www.vassalboro.net, under the heading Ordinances/Policies.

For example, several residents wanted solar panels invisible not only from neighboring properties, but also from people looking over from a height, in what are called viewsheds. Unlikely to happen, Brackett said: hiding a solar farm completely is probably impossible, and the strategic plan says nothing about viewsheds.

Resident Kevin Reed pointed out the difference between a solar farm – or another industry – in an isolated area and one surrounded by houses. Sorry, Brackett said: without zoning, the board cannot consider density of population or proximity to residences.

Reed suggested the updated ordinance include provisions for an electrical inspection. That’s the state’s job, codes officer Paul Mitnik and planning board member Dan Bradstreet replied.

Currently, board members said, local approval comes before state review for a project like a solar farm. State applications are more demanding, and state regulators have more expertise, they said. They surmised that because the state process is longer and more complex, state officials don’t want to go through it and then to have a municipality reject a state-approved permit.

Reed repeatedly questioned the order. Asked why it mattered, since the project would not be built without approval at both levels, he replied that information in the state permit might be valuable to townspeople and town regulators.

After the meeting, Redmond learned from Cameron Dufour, at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, that a prior municipal permit is not a requirement for a state solar development permit. She recommended adding the order in which permits are approved to the list of ordinance issues.

Mitnik said applications for town permits are submitted two weeks before each planning board meeting, and are public record. Residents who want information on a pending project may come to the town office and read the application.

Seeing plans should help alleviate concerns, Brackett added.

Select board member Rick Denico read the just-approved Riverside Drive application as discussion continued. He seemed favorably impressed, occasionally sharing details he found.

The next Vassalboro planning board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1. If the Route 32 solar farm, or any other commercial or industrial application, is on the agenda, board members have said abutters will be notified by mail before the meeting.